AF hand-me-down Global Hawks refurbished by NASA (previously reported on The Robot Report in April) being put to use flying above storms. It sits above the hurricane and peers into it using new NASA instruments measuring wind vectors and ocean surface winds, and creating a 3-D distribution of temperature, water vapor, and cloud liquid water. [At the top of the hurricane, wind flow is reversed, so instead of spiraling in from the center, the winds spiral out. A balance of wind flow between the top and bottom of a storm is what enables it to intensify from a cyclone–a closed area of rapid wind circulation–to a hurricane.]

In other UAV news, Homeland Security announced a fourth Predator patroling US/Mexico border thereby enabling complete 24/7 coverage of border.